Having served 72-hour strike notice with the BC Labour Board on August 15, the Local has instigated a ban on overtime intended to motivate a resumption of bargaining.

National CUPE spokesperson Murray Bush, in an August 19 press release says the outstanding issues in the impasse are: “…a modest wage increase inline with other settlements in the Kootenays and standard job security language.”

The move did not immediately inspire a response from the City of Castlegar, by way of its own press release. When contacted on August 19, however, Director of Transportation and Civic Works Chris Barlow did say the Local’s move was expected. Barlow also indicated that the number of overtime hours worked at this time of year is typically on the lower side.

“It’s an option available to the union,” he said of the overtime ban. “They’ve chosen to do that and we’ll monitor it as the situation goes. I think the city has put together a fair, reasonable package and we’re happy with what we’ve offered at this point.”